, 1887-07-13

growth on the hank OF the column n
noise is heard, u ~furtive, intermittent
noise, as of an animal moving through
the wood.
'.What is it?'' cries the c~ommandant,
raising his head and listening; 'fspies of
the enemy, perhaps; we may be fol-
lowed" And they search the border of
the wood with anxious care. The noise
stops for a moment, only to commence
again, but the cause of it remains undis-
covered. a gray light had now begun
TO show itself behind the hills; day was
breaking; they had been marching for
six long, weary hours.
Gradually, as this gray light mounts
and grows, the situation of these worn
out men assumes an aspect more lament
able and sinister still. Night had helped
to conceal their misery, but in the COM
ing morning they look upon each other
with positive alright, for their visages
are cadaverous and dirty, their bodies
doubled as if broken in two, and all the
dust, the mud and filth of the battle and
the road are grimed into then flesh by
thr sweat. Spots of red, fast turning
black, ~sflttcr their ragged clothing; the
better part of them are wrapped about
the heads with blood stained bandages,
tf'hA aal IN ElOflAlAll5 liz IA ~ "a
the chill of the air from the water.
Suddenly from the head of the column
the c~ommandant calls ''Halt!' but with
n voice SO grave and melancholy that the
soldiers tremble with a presentiment of a
new misfortune. They are right, for on
both sides of the river a debris of black
ened timbers rises from the water-it is
all that remains of what was once the
1,;lu, F 7 II,,,,,1nI Tho NTn,,gn st;1l
rolls before them, tranquil and deep!
Every one breaks into a run at first,
and contemplates the ruin in stupid ST.
lence; then cries and groans arise Oh ev-
cry side, the ~despairing ones grimacing,
railing and rolling upon the ground in an
agony of rage and disappointment. Others
throw stones and curses at the water
which injured them, while others break
their guns and drop upon the earth to
sleep. Occasionally a laugh is heard,
but it is only the laugh of some fevered
dreamer. amused with the trick which
fate has played him. At one side the of
ficers cluster in a group, sad, disheart-
ened and with lowered heads.
All at once a soldier throws aside his
clothing and stands before them naked.
They believe him crazy, and rush to seize
him. He is not crazy, however, at least
not in the way they suppose. A moment
later he is in the water. Twenty others
initiate him at once, but the rapidity of
the current sucks them in-they are help
less and go down, holding up their arms
10 heaven.
No matter, others do the same thing,
even the wounded and those exhausted.
1t is a contagious madness, and nothing
is heard but the cracking and splash of
the water under the successive shocks of
the plunging bodies. The officers COM
mand, beseech, adjure-no one listens!
Carried away, n after another, 100 men
are drowned in the waves before the very
eyes of their comrades.
Who knows, or who can tell, whether
it is an attempt at escape or deliberate,
courageous suicide?
In the midst of this vertigo, this megrim
of death, the bushes suddenly open and
AN old peasant, rough, hairy as a horse
and little better than a brute or savage,
appears upon the scene.
There is a ford,' he cries-"a ford,
you foolsl Wait and hear met They
do hear him, these poor, despairing ones.
The tidings run from man to man, and
simple as children, they are comforted
and at once take courage.
''From where do you Gomez" demands
the commandant, approaching and begin
ming to question him.
'From the country roundabout" the
peasant nswer
WAS it you who was following US
along the road?"
Yes
''Alone?''
eyes, alone"
''Well, where is this ford?"
"a league from herc-that way" and
the man points in the direction from
which they had just come.
''Then we passed it,"
Eyes"
"And you knew the bridge was de-
stroyed?'
Yes"
"Why, then, did you allow us to take
this useless journey"
at was necessary"
''How necessary"
The old man laughs, hen explains;
they were pursued; the German cavalry
would be on them in less than three
hours; if the traces of their steps stopped
suddenly upon the bank above the ford,
it would have betrayed at once the exist
cilCe Vi u pdSSdSe, anu tHdJ Iuey ndu
crossed at that place. 1t had been neces.
sary that they should go on to confuse
and mingle their footprints by a return
then the Germans would hunt n long
time before they would find out how the
French had disappeared.
True" assents the commandanti
''but show us the way at once"
An hour later the fugitives had crossed
the river, with the water to their arm,
pits even at tho ford, for the stream was
very full.
Thanks, my FRIEND" cries the com
mandant, the last to leave the bank, as
he holds out his hand to the old man
thanks and adieu."
"Adleu!' responds the peasant, resum,
ing the road.
Far away on the other side of the
Meuse the last of the rear guard grows
less and less against the horizon, and
soon all is quiet as before.
For more than an hour along the
rivers edge and through the dew soaked
grasses the old man marches with long
and hurried footsteps. Suddenly he
stops.
Already" he murmurs, gazing into
the distance, where, filling the width OF
the route, in full trot and with banners
~